If this review is a little hazy on detail, blame Bar Boulud's admirable sommelier, Dave Vareille. During our odyssey through a carnivore's delight of a menu, he soused us with wines ranging from a hefty Roda Rioja (poured from a jereboam) to a melony Malagousia from Greece, to cider wine and plum sake (much nicer than they sound) with pudding. There is still some dispute between my companions and me as to whether we had seven or nine glasses, altogether. There is no disputing that we had an excellent time.
Daniel Boulud is the French chef who originally created his eponymous Bar Boulud as a less formal but no less impressive alternative to his fine dining restaurants in New York. He has successfully recreated it in what used to be a chair store in the basement of the Mandarin Oriental. It's a noisy, buzzy room, which seems to appeal equally to ladies who lunch and trenchermen — a neat trick.
We started off with the bar's signature charcuterie platters, a united nations of pates, sausages and hams, of which a standout were the cubes of award-winning head cheese — lumps of umami suspended in a dense aspic jelly. Homemade pickles were also excellent. Then came a trio of sausages: a mealy boudin blanc was the only low point in the meal, but smoked Facon Morceau in a rich emulsion of lentils was outstanding.
Bar Boulud is already famous for its burgers, rightly so as it turned out. My Piggie Burger was a meat double whammy - a bloodily juicy beef patty topped with zestily seasoned and tender pulled pork, plus subtle chilli mayonnaise, all setting off explosive taste combinations. Trio d'Agneau was meltingly tender lamb rump, richly flavoured shoulder and delicate sweetbread, served with salty cavolo nero. A special of Arctic Char proved the kitchen doesn't just do meat. Its flesh - dense as salmon but white as cod - was lightly cooked, the skin crisp, the accompanying vegetables impeccable. Whatever they were.
Here's where I lost track of detail. There were puddings and cheese, of which I remember a hazelnutty Comte, a lethally pungent Epoisse, and Iles Flottante which were as sweet and delicate as sherbet. A bitterly intense espresso capped a nigh-on perfect men's meal, but was too late to allay the damage the wine list had done.
Bar Boulud, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA (+44 20 7201 3899; barboulud.com)
